Four Go RTW

The next day we were headed to the beautiful Similan Islands for an overnight stay, so we packed a spare pair of undies and lugged the rest of our bags to reception, only to be told that as they weren’t busy at the moment we could’ve left them in our room – so we lugged them all the way back again! After a 15 minute transfer to the Thap Lamu pier we were checked in and got on a big speedboat for the 1.5 hour transfer out to the islands. The boat was very fast and very loud and the sea was a flat calm so the kids thought it was great! The Similan Islands are a protected National Park Area (which is a big deal in Thailand) so boat numbers are strictly limited and all fishing is banned. There are 9 islands in the chain, called Number 1-9 to keep things easy, although they have names as well. Islands 1,2 &3 are reserved for turtles and their egg laying, so visitors are not allowed. We first arrived at Island 5 (Ko Ha) for a bit of snorkelling which was stunning, amazing to get into 20 metres of water and be able to see the bottom. Lots of pretty fish and the girls are now practised snorkelers and so leapt in and donned fins and mask (we even managed to fins small enough for Sadie so she was delighted). Then we were taken to Island 4 where the National Park HQ sits on a powdery white sand beach (tough job eh?). We checked into to our camouflage tent for the night and then sat on the beach and ate a lovely Thai lunch that had come on the boat with us.

Our home for the night:

After lunch the speedboat was reserved for the day-trippers and we were transferred to a big traditional double decker boat, with lots of space for the 10 or so of us staying the night! As we climbed aboard we saw our first turtle! So cool just hanging around at the back of the boat. We pottered off to Island 9 (Ko Ba Ngu) for a little snorkelling which again was awesome. It’s lovely going with the girls as they ‘squeak’ through their snorkels when they see something! When we got back on the boat it turned out it was low on fresh water and asked if we would mind being left on the beach of Island 8 (Ko Similan) for an hour while they went to fill it up, oh go on then…

Island No.8 (Ko Similan):

As we motored back to Island 4 we had a delicious supper served and were transferred to our beach around 7pm. The tent was fine with intact mozzie nets although it came with some rather questionable bedding (tip to those heading there, take your own!), but for 1 night we didn’t mind too much. The only thing it didn’t come with was a fan which was a shame as it was sooo hot! It is hitting the high 30’s here during the day now, and the nights are a bit cooler but it’s all relative. After telling the children to imagine being at either grandparents’ house in the middle of winter they quickly fell asleep and we all had a good night.
As well as the lovely coral reefs and gorgeous white sand beaches the islands have forested interiors, so we spent a while in the morning having a look around the campsite. It’s amazing how quiet and deserted everything is at 7am (!) although there’s always someone around - Sadie spotted this little guy waving at us:

Shortly after that there was a massive downpour and although the tent didn’t leak, we suddenly realised the groundsheet was ‘floating’ on a pool of water! We were taken back to the big boat for breakfast (another feast) and caught up with Kim and Dave, the couple who had spent the night on the boat in one of the tiny crew cabins – by all accounts as hot as the tent, although no mozzies! The turtle from yesterday then reappeared and this time we couldn’t resist getting in with him! The guys on the boat threw in some melon skin and greens for his breakfast which he seemed to appreciate, and the girls swam around squeaking through their snorkels again as he was just so gorgeous.

'Crush' right next to the boat:

For the rest of the day we snorkelled on Islands 7 (swimming with turtle no.2), 8 and 9, ate and relaxed, although Fin and Dave did get quite energetic with a diving competition off the back of the boat (1m platform) – she beat him on the classic dive, tumble jump and the penguin dive, but I think he won the back flip round! Later we re-joined the speedboat for the trip back to Khao Lak, very sandy and salty, tired and over-exposed but so happy to have seen the amazing Similan Islands.
See ya
All love CRFS xxxx